At Lunar New Year Bazaar last Saturday, I was thrilled to announce a major gift from Kevin Durant to help renovate basketball courts at Lincoln Recreation Center in Oakland’s Chinatown.

I’ve been working closely with the Warriors Community Foundation to fund and refurbish the indoor basketball court and three outdoor courts at Lincoln Rec. Thanks to our community partners and a generous leadership gift from KD and his charity foundation, we have now raised a total of $100,000 needed for the renovation project!

What is even more remarkable is that KD wants to make Lincoln Rec his “home court” and will be active at the center hosting his clinics and events in our neighborhood!

“When I was young, playing basketball was one of the things that kept me out of trouble and kept me focused on my growth and maturity in to the man I would eventually become,” Kevin said. “For that reason, I’ve always wanted to play a leadership role in communities and neighborhoods – like the one I grew up in – and give kids a chance to choose health, teamwork and basketball over some of the other negative influences they may face.”

Thank you, KD, for your investment in and support of Oakland’s our youth and our community. We are thrilled to partner with you, and I thank you on behalf of our young people and their families.

The Lincoln Recreation Center is one of the most heavily used recreation centers in Oakland, with more than 2,000 registered participants on a weekly basis and more than 30,000 drop-ins a month. Youth use the courts at all hours, and we hope we will be able to continue to promote health and wellness.

We look forward to completing the renovations this spring. Stay tuned on how you can help us with other needed improvements to Lincoln Rec. For more info: clchen@oaklandnet.com

Update on Mobile Food-Vending Regulations City staff are expected to bring the revised food-vending program maps and ordinance for a final Community and Economic Development Committee hearing in February before it reaches the full Council in March. The proposed permitted area includes 500-foot buffers around schools. Also, if businesses want to vend within school buffer zones during the day, they must receive written consent from the school district to serve healthy food. District 2 food-vending mapProposed citywide mobile food-vending map For more info on Oakland’s food vending program For questions and comments about mobile food-vending in District 2: Sarah Ting, sting@oaklandnet.com

GET INVOLVED

Short-Term Rentals Survey | Tell Us What You ThinkThe Oakland Municipal Code and Oakland Planning Code don’t currently address Short-Term Residential Rentals through platforms such as Airbnb, FlipKey and VRBO to rent spaces in their homes on a short-term basis. City staff held a public workshop on these short-term rentals last week, and is now conducting an online survey to gather more feedback from residents about this issue. Click here to share your views. The survey will be available until February 1. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation from the workshop. In cities with high housing demand, such as Oakland, a primary concern about short-term rental is their potential impact on housing availability, affordability and the impact on our neighborhoods. The City Council directed the Planning and Building Department staff to gather community input and develop policy options to regulate these rentals. For more info: www.oaklandnet.com/strr

January Assemblies | Decide How to Spend Oakland’s Federal DollarsHow would you spend federal funds to make District 2 a better place for low-to-moderate income communities? Join us for public meetings as part of Oakland’s Participatory Budgeting, where District 2 residents will discuss proposed projects and vote on their priorities for spending these funds. Participatory Budgeting is an innovative democratic process that gives residents the power to decide how federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds should be spent to improve low-to-moderate income communities in our district.

If you have an idea for a project to improve our district, come to the meeting or share online it at pboakland.org.

NEXT STEPS: In early February, community volunteers will review and prioritize all of the ideas collected and turn them into full proposals. At the end of February, residents of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in our district will vote on the top projects.

Stop Trafficking WalkThanks to all who braved the cold and came out last Friday for the Stop Human Trafficking Community Walk and Vigil. We passed out informational flyers and shared information about human trafficking with business owners along International Blvd. I was proud to co-host this event with Councilmember Gallo and the Oakland Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Task Force Awareness and Prevention Group. For more info about ongoing efforts: Sarah Ting, sting@oaklandnet.com

Morcom Rose Garden | Weeding, Deadheading, Conversation, Fresh AirEvery Wednesday, 9:00 am-1:00 pm. | 700 Jean St. One of Oakland’s and District 2’s wonderful parks, Morcom Rose Garden is a rare 7-acre green oasis one block off Grand Ave. Thanks to all the volunteers who turned out at the rose garden this week for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Want to work parks into your weekly schedule? Good exercise and great people. Join Morcom’s Dedicated Deadheaders at the garden on Wednesday mornings. For more info and map

CELEBRATE OAKLAND

Saturday, January 21 | Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration11:00 am-2:00 pm | Vietnamese Community Development Office, 1254 23rd Ave.Join us to celebrate the new year, with festivities including an ancestors’ worship and gift ceremony for our senior citizens. For more info: Trung Duy Nguyen,trungvnn1946@yahoo.com

CITY SERVICES

City Upgrades Emergency Siren SystemThe City of Oakland is upgrading its emergency alert capabilities, with a full-system test slated for February 3. Initially created as a result of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, Oakland’s Emergency Siren System has been expanded to alert residents of other emergencies, such as chemical spills.

During the upgrade, the City’s emergency sirens will not be used to notify residents and businesses of an emergency. In the event of an emergency, residents will instead receive notification by phone via AC Alert. AC Alert is a free, unified emergency notification system for Alameda County residents, businesses and visitors. For more info and to sign up: www.acalert.org For questions: bgranados@oaklandnet.com

If you experience emergency problems after normal business hours: 510-615-5566

Number of Shootings in Oakland Has Declined

Recent data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (used by most law enforcement agencies across the nation to report crimes) shows the number of nonfatal injuries and homicides from gunfire in Oakland has steadily declined over the past five years, dropping from a total of 683 in 2012 to 421 in 2016 – a 38% reduction. The implementation of Oakland’s Ceasefire strategy began in October 2012.